‘They Rarely Travel Alone’: Inside the Complexity Spiral of Emerging Process Addictions – Behavioral Health Business
By Chris Larson | August 19, 2026
Behavioral Health Business
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Addiction treatment providers face a world that is evolving faster than ever as rising process addictions complicate patients’ clinical needs. The American economy and social trends have always impacted addiction treatment. However, the industry has never seen the swift rise of specific conditions driven by previously unimagined technologies that make problematic behavior so compelling and accessible. The rise of these conditions illustrates a compounding problem in addiction treatment.
"I think what we need to develop more and more clinical models that are addressing the new world that’s available," said Andrew DiGiacomo, senior vice president of strategy for the digital behavioral health company Birches Health, during a panel chat at the SUD Business Summit. "Gambling has changed so much because you had to be very specific to have a gambling addiction. It’s just true. You couldn’t just suddenly become a gambler like you can now. Same with sex and love addiction."
Personal technologies of such power and convenience are a genuine first for humanity. These have gone from novelties to an inextricable part of modern life in just 30 years. Today, technology companies are facing legal consequences for product designs that litigants say were intentionally addictive.
Digitally driven process addictions add to the ever-increasing medically complex patients who are seeking treatment. For years, providers have told BHB that the health of the typical patient seeking treatment has been getting worse and worse. Providers are required to keep service lines current to epidemiological trends and staff clinicians that have the capacity to deal with complicated patient needs.
Jaime Vinck, president of multispecialty mental health and addiction facility operator Meadows Behavioral Health, said during the panel that providers must include holistic services that also address childhood trauma, likening it to a “fire in the basement” that will drive relapse and readmission if not addressed in treatment. Further, she noted that her organization has remained current by following the latest updates in their core services. Meadows Beh